Long ball helps support stellar outing by Flaherty

LOS ANGELES — First pitch at Dodger Stadium came with 103-degree weather, the hottest start time of the season for the Dodgers.

A couple of innings later, it was Shohei Ohtani’s turn to bring the heat. Ohtani smashed his 46th homer of the year in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the Guardians on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, helping him get closer to making Major League history.

“I think he wants to be the best player that’s ever played this game, and one way to do that is to do something nobody has ever done, which he has already done,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But you also like round numbers.”

Ohtani’s homer was another impressive blast, traveling a Statcast-projected 450 feet with an exit velocity of 116.7 mph. The two-time unanimous American League Most Valuable Player sneaked the ball just fair and was upheld by a lengthy crew chief review.

With just 19 games left in the regular season, Ohtani needs to record four more homers and four more stolen bases to become the first player in Major League history to hit the 50-50 mark. Ohtani is already the only player to ever get to 46 homers and 46 stolen bases in a single season.

“I’m trying to be less cognizant of it,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “Just more focused on having good feel at the plate, and whenever possible during the game … that’s what I’m trying to do and focus on.”

While Ohtani delivered the fireworks, it was right-hander Jack Flaherty who gave the Dodgers exactly what they needed on the mound. As they currently manage a depleted rotation, it’s been Flaherty who has provided some much-needed stability since being acquired from the Tigers at the Trade Deadline.

“He pounds the zone with all his pitches,” said Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who added a solo homer in the eighth inning. “He has a really good idea of what he wants to do up there. He doesn’t let anything stray him away from his game plan. He knows what he wants to do with each hitter, and you can tell that with the confidence he has when he’s getting his pitches. It’s really fun to play behind him.”

Flaherty’s start on Sunday was arguably his best with the Dodgers, tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings. He didn’t work through any trouble against the Guardians, allowing just three hard-hit balls.

As he has all season long, Flaherty found a lot of success with his breaking pitches. Flaherty recorded 11 of his 14 swings and misses on his slider and knuckle curve.

“It was huge,” Flaherty said of getting into the eighth inning. “Especially when you get the bullpen day yesterday, which they did a great job starting the game and the guys putting up runs. Just the way the offense came out and swung it, the way that guys came out and threw it, to be able to get deep after a bullpen game was huge. Yeah, it’s just a nice feeling.”

As Flaherty departed, he got a standing ovation from the Dodger Stadium crowd. That’s something the Dodgers will hope to see more of as they lean on Flaherty to be one of their key arms down the stretch — as they seek their 11th National League West title in 12 seasons — and into the postseason.